1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to wire dispensers of the rotating type for dispensing spooled coiled wire, such as welding wire, wherein the dispenser may be accommodated to various sizes and types of wire spools.
2. Description of the Related Art
Arc welding equipment of the wire type usually utilizes a wire dispenser for removing the wire from the spooled coil in such a manner as to prevent tangling of the wire. Such apparatus usually includes a vertically disposed column upon which a wire receiving guide or tube is mounted capable of rotating about the spool axis. Rotation of the arm is produced by the tension within the wire as it is fed into the welder, and a brake is usually utilized to control the rate of guide arm rotation to prevent over-running and excessive wire uncoiling. Examples of this type of wire dispenser are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,920,962; 3,618,873; 4,206,889; 4,253,624 and 4,657,204.
While it is known to mount the wire dispensing apparatus on the wire spool, the size and configuration of the central hole in the end flanges of wire spools differs between manufacturers of welding wire and it is necessary to use a dispenser specifically constructed for use with a particular manufacturer's spool. Dispensers capable of being effectively mounted upon a variety of types and sizes of wire spool end flanges have not been available.
Further, as wire spools are used several times, the size of the end flange hole may wear and increase due to its use in supporting a wire dispenser, and it is unacceptable to mount a dispenser on a spool end flange in a loose manner such as would permit the dispenser base plate to rotate on the end flange or wobble. In my co-pending application Ser. No. 08/401,153, filed Mar. 9, 1995, I have proposed a cam lock for locking dispenser end plates into worn spool end flange openings, but the apparatus shown in my earlier application is only usable with a particular size of spool flange hole.
Further, because the diameter of spool end flanges varies between manufacturers and sizes of wire spools, previous dispensing apparatus has not been suitably adjustable to accommodate various sizes of wire spools resulting in uneven wire dispensing and casting of the dispensed wire, i.e. causing a twist to occur in the wire during dispensing, and apparatus has not been previously available to permit optimum wire dispensing with a wide variety of spool sizes.